There has been so many great games this year and I have only been able to play a few but of the games i have picked up and played i consider many game of the year worthy so in this small blog i have decided to list those such games and give my personal reasons as to why i think they are candidates for my Game of the Year.
 
Mass Effect 2
 

I think Fallout: New Vegas is my game of the year, not sure which other ones to include on my list.

Mine? World of Warcraft: Cataclysm beta and Bad Company 2. RDR and Halo are really solid too but I didn't buy RDR and got tired of Halo pretty quickly. Splinter Cell conviction was awesome but not really GOTY in my opinion. 
 
I know my picks will be flushed away in a flood of WoW haters and CoD fanboys though.

I don't get this "candidates" thing. Are you seriously going to sit there at the end of the year and have a hard time choosing between these five games? I mean, there has certainly been a year or two when two games were released that were so close in quality, it was hard for me to choose -- but five? Really?

Best 3 of the year:
1. Fallout New Vegas
2. Super Meat Boy
3. Nier
 
true story.

Mine is a toss-up between Heavy Rain and RDR. Heavy Rain's story was just so damn good.

Mass Effect 2 - it's just the game I enjoyed the most this year. Red Dead Redemption was great, too but not as breathtaking in my opinion.

I understand this list, of course, if you don't have a Wii or a PC. Otherwise, you gotta add Super Mario Galaxy 2, StarCraft 2, and Civ V. 
 
Also, WHY HAVEN'T YOU PLAYED BAYONETTA OR VANQUISH? Also, check out Enslaved, 'cause that game is way better than the critics are giving it credit for. I guess game critics don't like Ninja Theory or something...

Well I agree with Mass Effect 2 as it was a good start for 2010. Although I haven't played Heavy Rain, I hear nothing but good things about it so far so I'll be sure to check it out. In the mean time allow me to share my candidates also namely:      

It's between Mass Effect 2 and Starcraft 2.

I think of your list, RDR and Mass Effect 2 will be up for GOTY. Based on everyone's opinions on the podcast I think Mass Effect 2 is the runaway GOTY on consoles. I think it's be a two way race between Mass Effect 2 and Civ 5 ultimately though. The darkhorse is Gran Tourismo 5 but I don't see a racing game winning even if it lives up to the hype.

" I think of your list, RDR and Mass Effect 2 will be up for GOTY. Based on everyone's opinions on the podcast I think Mass Effect 2 is the runaway GOTY on consoles. I think it's be a two way race between Mass Effect 2 and Civ 5 ultimately though. The darkhorse is Gran Tourismo 5 but I don't see a racing game winning even if it lives up to the hype. "

Aww shit, Splinter Cell was awesome forgot that game came out this year.

For me it's StarCraft II, hands down.
 
It's not just in the "awesome game I'll beat many times" category; it has incredible community, depth, and multiplayer people will play for years.
 
Years.
 
I consider SC II to be in a completely different league than all the other runner-ups; sure, all of these games are incredible fun to play, but StarCraft II is just an 
increbile gaming phenomenon that will take very long to wear out.

I haven't played Red Dead Redemption of Fallout New Vegas yet and I suspect the latter might be my favorite when I get around to it. However, I've been trying to figure out which game represents my surprise of the year. 
 

Game I was most surprised was actually really awesome and kind of turned out to be a sleeper-hit (for me, anyways)

                 

Splinter Cell is weird. I don't even have enough for one of these. Stay tuned for my weird-ass GOTY things later on, I guess, where I name Harmony of Dissonance for the GBA for something. 
 
I don't play many new games.

" I think Fallout: New Vegas is my game of the year, not sure which other ones to include on my list. "

" @TheSeductiveMoose said:

" I think Fallout: New Vegas is my game of the year, not sure which other ones to include on my list. "

It'll be 2011 by the time its playable. "

" I haven't played Red Dead Redemption of Fallout New Vegas yet and I suspect the latter might be my favorite when I get around to it. However, I've been trying to figure out which game represents my surprise of the year. 
 

Game I was most surprised was actually really awesome and kind of turned out to be a sleeper-hit (for me, anyways)

 Nominees are...      
                    "

" @MysteriousBob said:

" @TheSeductiveMoose said:

" I think Fallout: New Vegas is my game of the year, not sure which other ones to include on my list. "

It'll be 2011 by the time its playable. "

Not for me. I've just experienced some minor glitches and maybe 2 crashes during the 40+ hours I've spent with the game, guess I'm one of the lucky ones. "

The year is coming to an end and I have so many games still to play :D 
But Heavy Rain is definately great "interactive film"... I woudn't put in the first place but for sure it would be in the top 10 :) 
Most of the rest I still haven't played... but Red Dead Redemption is next in my list

its mass effect 2. there is no discussion to be had ;)